


The BitterSweet Guardians

by BKLily, Emeru



Category: Star Ocean: Till the End of Time
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Space, Character Death, F/M, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-09-15 04:46:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16926771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BKLily/pseuds/BKLily, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emeru/pseuds/Emeru
Summary: "The most valuable resource in the universe is not metal or money, but information. You would be surprised to know just how far someone's curiosity could take them. Whather or not the endgame is good or bad is completely irrelevant, if humans want to find something, they will create ways to achieve their goals.However, the cost of curiosity is often high."





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a fanfiction with some nerds from the Bittersweet Gamers discord.  
> Links to their [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSbuezxekbGdTGMcrxE5I9g) and [discord](https://discord.gg/sqSn7z4)!
> 
> Emeru: Kudos to Lily for helping me co-write this junk.  
> Lily: Me and Emeru are making this together so I hope y'all like it! o/

Space, 2500 A.D, space starts with nothing and ends with nothing. A large expanse of a never ending void, holding stars amongst planets amongst its great landscape. Only those with either the technological knowledge or the manpower can traverse through these lands.

Humankind has begun to amazingly evolve, ever since the first moon landing.

Its knowledge rapidly evolving, seeing no intention of stopping.

However…

Sometimes knowledge can be a dangerous thing. When we know too little, we are unsure, on edge and we panic.

But when we know too much, we run the risk of carrying a great burden on our shoulders. In short, information in itself has the power to rip our world apart, and yet… the fact that there are such possibilities out there, to discover new and improved knowledge, is more than enough to drive us to look for it, regardless of the possible consequences.

This is the main reason why we dare to dance across the unknown with such abandon: simply because it's unknown, and we'll try to make it known. And because we have the ability to obtain that knowledge, we seek it out.

It is a cycle that sometimes, can be very vicious…

 

**Planet Radenza, 13 years before.**

The planet seemed to be on the verge of evolving to the next stage. The trees, flower and fauna were sprouting healthily while protected by automated aluminum walls. Every so often an automatic sprinkler system would activate and water the plants. The streets were paved with beautiful azure colored roads and the people were happy and cheerful.

It seemed to be a small scale town, as there were no flying cars, large buildings or industries, but the shops did have peculiar and eccentric looking foodstuffs and toys.

In the middle of the town square was a statue of a young looking man. He had long curly hair that looked a little like spaghetti, showed only slight signs of facial hair growing in, and was wielding a very expensive looking blaster over his shoulder.

He wore a padded armor that only covered his left arm and chest with a double buckle belt, and had a decorated hexagonal badge on his chest.

Under the statue was a name on a silver plaque.

" _Bouillabaisse, the youngest man to ever ascend to the rank of captain in the pan galactic federation.'_

By his guidance alone and the command of only a cargo ship, he single handedly protected Planet Radenza from an incoming attack.

Many young and starry eyed kids wished to follow in his footsteps, or at the very least, get a chance to work with him.

A small boy could be seen bowing on his knees in front of the statue. His messy and spiky green hair covered his face and he was wearing an open sleeve yellow shirt with brown cargo pants.

“Please guide me on today's journey great Bouillabaisse. I'm going on another adventure with Sarah today cuz she won't leave me alone, and I think she'll get into trouble if I don't follow her. So please, let your greatness protect us on our journey”

The boy continued to bow his head in silence until someone had called his name.

“Hey Mishira!!! Are you coming to help me or what?!” A voice called out.

Hearing the voice, Mishira hesitantly got up and turned around.

“Jeez Sarah can't you give me a minute to pray for good luck?”

The girl in front of Mishira was Sarah Nocturne, his bold and self made childhood friend. She had braided purple hair with a ponytail held in place with a jade hair band, red eyes and a little heart on her left cheek. The girl wore a yellow top with blue shorts and expensive looking sandals.

“Are you really going to spend all day praying to that guy?” Sarah groaned.

“Maybe I wouldn't need to pray to him all the time if your little adventures didn't always get us in so much trouble.” Mishira scolded as he folded his arms.

“Oh come on! You know you love spending time with me.” Sarah gave a flirtatious smile but Mishira just rolled his eyes.

“Anyway, what's this “adventure” you wanted to go on anyway?” He asked, but Sarah simply smiled as she twirled around Mishira and pointed in a direction leading out of town.

“Treasure is the name of today’s game my dear friend, and we're going after a big one!” Sarah proclaimed heartedly.

“That... Does not explain what we are doing.” he replied blankly and Sarah gave him a light knock on the head. “O-ow what was that for?”

She shook her head and sighed. “Adventure hardly needs any explanation, since it's always there waiting for us.”

“So you're not going to tell me until we get there?”

“Exactly!” Sarah said with a thumbs up.

Mishira hung his head in despair. “I figured as much. Okay then, let's get going.”

The girl smiled warmly. “That's my buddy.” Those words made Mishira blush, but he quickly turned away.

“W-whatever, let's just hurry and wrap this up. I don't want to miss potsticker night..” He said, before Sarah started pulling him by the arm and lead him outside of town. “Whoa! H-hey let me go will ya?!” But the girl ignored her friend's cries as she happily runs out the village with him.

The advancement of society has only seemed to reach inside the town. As such, the outside of the city walls were filled with many frightful creatures, waiting for the chance that someone was dumb enough to leave without any sort of protection.

Sarah had lead Mishira to a craggy sort of peak far away from the town.

“Sarah...where the heck are we..?” Mishira looked around nervously, being set off by the tense atmosphere.

“This is where the treasure is, a golden orb hidden deep within a lair of a ferocious beast!” She said and began to walk forward. “Some say this orb is not a part of our world, that something like this shouldn't even be here, but it is.”

“So you plan on getting some pretty big coin from this orb then?” Mishira questioned.

“Something more valuable than gold Mishira…” Sarah crouched behind a rock and pulled a steel sword from the back of it. “Here” She threw the sword at Mishira who barley caught it.

“I-is this a sword?! Where the hell did you get this?!” He exclaimed, surprised, but soon noticed there was also a sword strapped to Sarah’s hilt. “Sarah, what.. Exactly are we going to do?” Mishira questioned, slightly nervous.

The girl turned around and faced her friend with a look of determination.

“We're going inside this mountain, and kill our first monster.”

“WHAT?!” He screamed “K-Killing a monster?! But we barely fought house rats much less a freaking monster in a mountain!”

“Mishira, I'd never ask anyone else to do this, you're the only person I can trust to help me!” Sarah gave the boy a pleading look and held out her hand.  “I promise we'll be okay, so please… Won't you help me?”

Mishira stared at his friend's hand, not sure of what to say, but he could feel his heart about to burst out of his chest. Whether it was the massive fear rushing to his head or perhaps the feeling of not wanting to leave Sarah alone, either way there was no option to turn back.

“Fine, if it's so important I'll help, but I'm blaming you if we get munched on.” Mishira sighed and Sarah surprised him with a hug tackle.

“Oh I knew I could count on you! You have no idea how much this means to me!” She squealed.

“H-Hey, it's not that big of a deal, we're doing everyone a favor anyway.” Mishira smiled bashfully.

As Sarah released her death grip, she clasped the boy’s hand and looked at him.

“If we make it through this, I promise it'll be worth it.” Sarah smiled with a slight blush and Mishira realized he needed to break the conversation fast, before he became red as a tomato.

“J-Jeez are we going to take this thing out or what? We're wasting daylight!” He quickly rushed into the mountain cave ahead of her.

Since his back was turned, he missed a slight sinister glint in Sarah's smile.

She hurriedly followed after Mishira into the cave.

 

* * *

 

As they made their way inside, it was just as you'd expect any cave to be: dark, damp, the feel of death looming around you, just the usual stuff. But there seemed to be a small light at the end of the tunnel.

“See that light over there? That's where the orb is, that's also likely where the dragon will be sleeping.” Sarah spoke as she turned to her companion. “Are you ready?”

Mishira nodded and looked forward. Him and his friend begun to walk towards the faint flickering light.

After about an hour of so of walking, the two come upon a giant crevice inside the mountain, which was filled to the maw with glittering gold: Coins, Chalices, Furniture… Everything was coated in a shiny golden glow.

“W-Woah!!, look at all this gold! How did it even get here?” Mishira exclaimed. Sarah's eyes lit up as she saw something peeking out from the pile of jewels and riches and she silently moved forward towards the pile with an ominous grin on her face.

“Uh Sarah? Are you okay?” Mishira asked. But his friend seemed too enthralled by something to listen. However, just as she stepped on one of the gold pieces in the pile, a booming voice made its presence known.

 **_“Who dares enter our domain…?”_ **the voice caused Mishira's and Sarah's bodies to freeze.

He looked up, seeing a giant shadow flying down from a hole in the cave’s ceiling. It was a dragon… A giant dragon…

Its body was a grayish brown color and its enormous size made the two kids look like ants.

“A...A dragon… A real… Dragon..” Mishira shook. He was speechless at the monstrosity standing before him. The behemoth looked down on the two and growled.

 **_“Humans….? It has been nought a century since one of you vermin had came to face us...”_ **The dragon spoke.

“Th-the dragon… Can speak?!” Sarah questioned in surprise and it seemed to anger the monster. The dragon slammed its foot down with great force as it spoke again.

**_“Of course we can speak! Do you think we are nought but mindless beasts?! What place does a human have to think us of lesser intelligence?”_ **

“W-Who are you exactly…?” Mishira asked and the dragon turned to him. The beast stared at him like it was judging the small boy. After a while, the beast simply answered.

**_“We are Crosell, Guardian of this small hobble of a cave.”_ **

“Are you the one guarding...all of this gold? W-Why?”

**_“There is only one item that we guard here. We have no use for such useless trinkets you humans seem to be so found of…”_ **

“Really? Then does that mean….” But before Mishira could ask another question, Sarah had yelled out.

“I got it! I got the orb!” She cheered as she held a gold reflective sphere up in the air.

As the beast turned around and saw what Sarah was holding it immediately went into a [frenzy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cA3AjXFMhQ).

 ** _“YOU INSOLENT HUMAN! DROP THAT ORB NOW AND BEGONE FROM THIS PLACE!”_** The dragon bellowed, enraged.

“Forget it beast! You're just a greedy monster after treasure, having the gift of speech doesn’t change that fact!” Sarah retorted.

 **_“You dare...Talk down to us as Iif  we are common brutes… You have sealed your fate…”_ **Crosell stomped its feet on the ground and extended his wings. Just the force of the beast moving was enough to shake the ground.

“Gah!” Sarah had quickly lost her balance and fell on her backside. The dragon discarded any mercy it may have had and was prepared to end Sarah’s life.

 **_“Disappear!!!”_ **The dragon brought its giant claw down, aiming to crush Sarah's body into paste.

“SARAH!!” Mishira had forced his body to move, raised his sword, and stood in front of Sarah, barely stopping the beasts claw.

“M-Mishira!” Sarah screamed

“Th-this was a terrible idea Sarah! You need to head back to town now!” Mishira said as he struggled to fend the beast off.

“B-but if I leave you alone you might..!” She protested.

“NOW!” He demanded with a firm voice as he managed to fend off Corsels claw. “And drop that orb! We don't need to die over that!”

But the girl got silent at his last suggestion.

“Sarah…? What are you waiting for, drop that thing….” Mishira said again, a little breathless.

In a flash, Sarah had clutched the orb in her hands and began to run.

“I'm sorry... But I can't!”

“SARAH!” He yelled.

 **_“YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE HUMAN!”_ **The dragon had leaped into the air before diving down at Sarah attempting to kill her with her back turned.

“DAMMIT SARAH!” Mishira wouldn't be able to reach the dragon in time to block his strike, so he used his body as a shield and took the hit of the beasts attack.

“AAARGH!” His body went crashing into the nearby wall.

“S-sarah.. I told you… to drop the orb…” Mishira breathed heavily as he got up, but looking around he concluded that Sarah was long gone. “S-she already…..”

Corsell had turned his attention to Mishira with an angry glare.

**“You humans do not realize the chaos of what you're about to ensue. Get out of our way.”**

“Tch….I .. I can't do that..” Mishira had forced himself to stand on his feet and blocked the path leading out of the cave.

**“You would dare throw your life away for something that does not concern you?! It was she who absconded with our possession!”**

Mishira shook his head.

“I don't care. I won’t let you near her.” And he adopted an assertive stance, glaring at the dragon with fierce eyes.

The dragon seemed momentarily taken by surprise, but soon snorted with a condescending tone.

 **“So the little fleshling wishes to play the role of the knight… Then we'll take your life for hers!”** Crosell only flapped his wings once, but that single gust felt like a windstorm ready to knock Mishira off his feet.

“Guh! I’m… I'm sorry... But I can’t let you near her, so you'll have to get through me first!” He regained his balance and raised his sword again, still staring at the dragon.

**“Then come Puny human, let us test your worth…”**

The battle begun and it was more than obvious that Mishira was heavily outclassed. While in moments of sheer luck and precise aiming he was actually able to damage the creature, Crosell only needed a flick of his finger to throw the boy across the room and against the stone walls. The impact was so severe that he could feel the air in his lungs disappear completely, his vision falter as flashes of golden colors momentarily blinded him and his ears started ringing inside of his head.

But each time, Mishira would get back up and try again, repeating a similar attack process until he was nearly beaten within an inch of his life. The fact that he was even still alive was a miracle in itself.

“A-ACK!” Mishira fell to one knee and spat out a small pool of blood, his vision slowly starting to become hazy.

“No… N-Not yet, I have to keep going….” but as he looked up, the dragon had stopped its assault, simply looking at the boy with a judging gaze again.

 **“You are on the edge of death, if we continue this fight any longer, you will surely meet your end, so why do you persist?”** Crosell questioned.

“B-because I gotta keep her safe, that's.. All that matters.” He had a bit of difficulty in talking, his body aching all over.

 **“You humans are so foolish, throwing your lives to the slaughter for each other, you welcome death so others won't face it, truly your race is one we do not wish to understand.”** With what sounded like a sigh, the dragon laid down and folded its wings.

**“We will not continue a fight with such a handicap, leave this place and never return.”**

The one eye Mishira could open had widened in surprise. “Y-your just going to let me live…?” He questioned, still struggling to keep his battle stance.

 **“We are not beasts that enjoy crushing the weak, and it would certainly displease someone if a snuffed out such an innocent soul so early…”** Crosell answered. **“In the end it doesn't matter, when you leave this place, you shall face the consequences of what has transpired here.”**

“W-what do you mean?!” Mishira questioned, but the dragon had seemed to enter a deep slumber.

With no other options left, Mishira dragged his bloody and battered body outside of the mountain, vision still hazy and consciousness barely holding onto his mind as he tried to make it back to town.

But as soon as he saw the outer gates, Mishira noticed a drastic change in temperature and spotted smoke coming from the inside.

“S-smoke? What's going on…?” The sense of uneasiness and fear crawled up his back and she shuttered, making the wounds around his body ache again, but he fought back the pain and managed to force himself into a jog, running back to town.

When he got inside, all that was waiting for him was heartache and [horror](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vANRdqvvf6E).

“W..What…?”

His town, his home, all the houses and shops were destroyed, dead bodies littering the streets. The sky was dark, ablaze with crackling ember and heavy smoke, and floating in the middle of it, were a multitude of weird mechanical ships.

“E..Everyone…! Who...who did this..?” His body was becoming close to numb, but he forced himself to walk deeper into the ruined remains of what use to be his home.

When he reached the town square, he saw the statue of their hero in pieces.

“W-who would do this…?” His voice was weak and his lungs burned from the smoke, eyes stinging from both tears and the ash in the air. He picked up and held pieces of the destroyed statue in his trembling hands. Just when he was about to let the desperate tears fall and finally slip into the unconsciousness his body craved, Mishira heard a familiar scream.

“AAAAHHHH!!!!” It sounded like a man's voice in pain.

“F-FATHER!” He quickly ran towards the source of the scream, following it back to his home.

Kicking the door open, he leaped inside, but was not at all prepared to see what transpired.

“W-what… the hell…?” He whispered in a weak voice, his heart practically stuck on his throat.

Inside, stood four people… well, three.

To the left and right, were women in armored red trench coats with green visors, both carrying a complicated looking blaster. The third person in the room was someone Mishira knew.

It was his childhood friend Sarah, stabbing his father in the chest with a sword.

“S-sarah…! H-how could you….” Mishira's father struggled to speak as he tried to grab the girl. But he was simply tossed aside like a crumpled up piece of paper.

“Jeez, that takes care of him, we should get….” Sarah turned around and paused, seeing her ex friend beaten and bloody, but alive. “Y-You’re alive?!” She exclaimed surprised.

“W-What the hell… Did you do…!?” Mishira questioned as he limped towards her.

“I.. I didn't expect you'd be alive…”

“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO- ACK!” Mishira let out an outburst and tried to rush to Sarah, but that alone had took a toll on his body and it finally gave up, resulting in his falling to the floor with a *thud*.

“Wait, you're telling me this decoy actually survived a fight with that monster?! Wow, he must have gotten lucky.” Side Grunt A had laughed.

“Whatever it doesn't matter, he's close to death anyway. We got the OPA and erased any traces, our job is done.” Said Grunt B.

“Dammit Sarah, what was all of this for?! Tell me! Argh…” Mishira tried to raise his sword hand, but his body simply stayed on the floor, not being able to move anymore.

“Even if he did survive, the kid will be dead within the hour, let's get out of here.” The two grunts pressed a device on their wrist and disappeared in a weird multicolored light.

“Shit... Why… Sarah…” Mishira wheezed, as the fumes of the flames started to get to him.

Sarah didn't look at his body, simply turning away before answering.

“The most valuable thing in this world is information Mishira. That's why.”

“W-what do you mean….?”

But she didn't answer, and pressed a device on her wrist, disappearing in the same light like the grunts before her, leaving Mishira alone in the crumbling and burning shack that was once his home.

“...I..Information...but...why…?”

He could no longer form a coherent sentence and his vision began to darken as he could only just barely hear voices in the distance.

**_"Knowledge in itself has the power to rip our world apart, but that doesn't stop us from trying to obtain it by any means necessary._ **

**_And because we have the means to seek it out, we try to claim it, simply because we must sate our own natural instinct that is curiosity._ **

**_It's a vicious cycle many can't escape, even friends…”_**


	2. A fleeting sense of peace (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we follow our lovely protagonist in meeting new characters and forming friendships (or getting mortal enemies)!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're a discorder and wanna put your own OC in this story don't be ashamed to DM Emeru and give him a character sheet.  
> If ya wanna hop into the BSG train, check out their [YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSbuezxekbGdTGMcrxE5I9g) and join us in [discord](https://discord.gg/QwDDjB)! I promise we won't eat you!

A voice was calling Mishira in his sleep.

“...ira…..shira…..ake up….. “ It was coming in only faintly, still not managing to wake up the boy. Only after a third time he could hear the voice with full clarity.

“Yo, Mishira Kotatsu! Come back to this universe!” Said the voice, wrapped in a sarcastic tone.

“Ah!!” Mishira woke up from the terrible dream, gasping for air and sweating bullets.

The boy found himself in a fancy hotel room, sitting on a freshly refurbished couch where he was very comfortably asleep moments before. There was a pot of azaleas on the table in front of him, and a beautiful view of the ocean could be seen from the large window.

“T-That damn dream again...” Mishira breathed heavily.

He wasn't a kid anymore. Unlike the dream, was now a full 23 years old adult, wearing a purple sleeveless vest with a white collared shirt underneath, brown baggy pants and sneakers colored in a mix of black and red. His green hair was a bit messy and there were a few bags under his amber colored eyes.

“What's wrong with you man? Looks like you’ve just seen a ghost.” The same voice that woke him up now sounded concerned.

Mishira turned around and saw a man just about his age. It was Zekro Fudo, an aspiring engineer and a good friend of Mishira’s.

Zekro had stunning teal eyes and very bright (almost white) blonde hair with the tips slightly black and a spiky style that covered his right eye. He was wearing an open green jacket with black lines crawling towards his shoulder blades with a gray shirt underneath, blue jeans and monochrome sneakers. There were also some badges on the left side of his jacket, seeming to be rewards for some sort of video game competition.

“Uh... It was nothing! Just an annoying dream! That's all…” The boy laughed a bit as he hung his head.

But Zekro didn't buy into his lie. “It was about _her_ again, wasn't it?” He asked, looking at him with even more worried eyes.

Mishira sighed and nodded.

“I’ve… been having that same dream more frequently these past few days. Thought I had been able to forget it but…” He trailed off as his expression sunk.

Zekro scratched his head and looked down. “Man, that's rough. I can't imagine what it must have been like, to go through something like that.” His head quickly perked back up. “But hey, I know just the thing to take your mind off of it!” He grinned. “They're opening that new virtual gaming station in the lobby today, and there's going to be tons of people! So we gotta be sure to make it there while it's still early, got it?!”

“But, isn't that place gonna open in like… Two hours? It's still early as heck. A little ambitious don't you think?” Mishira laughed. “I mean, maybe we shouldn't go right now and just… Stick around the general area. Wouldn't hurt, right?”

Zekro pouted, turning around and walking to the exit, stopping as the door slid open.

“Well, then _I'm_ going to hang around the lobby till the big event. You should probably walk around the resort and, I dunno, get your mind off things. Who knows, it might help. See ya later!” With that, he waved at him and left the room.

Mishira sighed as he got up from the couch, feeling sluggish and a bit sleepy. He tidied himself up and made his way to the door, exiting the room and walking down a long, fancy hallway.

It had been 10 years since the attack on Radenza, and Mishira considered himself lucky that Zekro’s parents took him in, giving him a place to live and a new family.

Zekro's father, Dojima Fudo, was a man who excelled in the field of runological studies and had a degree in virtual games. In fact he was the one responsible for creating the new virtual battle arena that was about to be presented, a small privilege for Mishira and Zekro. Good man but had the tendency to tell way too many dad jokes in both Mishira’s and Zekro’s opinions. At least he made a damn good coffee.

The mother, Rukia Fudo, was a very caring woman, but a bit too passionate in her field of craft. She baked for a living, except she treated her creations as… experiments. Unlike Dojima, she was skilled in the many arts of symbology. However, instead of using it for combat, she used it in her baking, testing each kind of new element and tactic into a new dish. And unfortunately, being a part of the Fudo family granted Mishira the honor of being a test subject.

Her cooking didn't always result in stomach pains and food poisoning though. In fact, sometimes a really good dessert would come out! Keyword, _sometimes_.

“I guess you could say we gamble our lives every time it's her turn to make dinner…” He muttered to himself and chuckled a bit. “But she has a good heart, and always looks after me like if I was really part of the family...”

And then there was their real son, Zekro Fudo: gaming maniac and drawing extraordinaire. He was with the rescue team that saved Mishira from death after the tragedy in Radenza, trying to find any family to dispatch the small survivor into.

Needless to say, there weren't many people looking for a child from a little and rustic planet. After all, most of the other planets use a certain level of advancement in development, and Radenza was barely at level 2. Anything under level 5 of development was laughable at best. But eventually, the boys bonded over some games and occasional visits, until one day Zekro finally asked Mishira if he wanted to be his brother.

The small orphan was naturally unsure. He didn’t even know if his new family would accept him! Lucky for him, he found everything he was looking for in the Fudo family. Well… almost everything. Mishira lacked in what he desired most: _answers_.

Even after a decade, the boy still couldn't understand why Sarah would do something like that. Killing innocent people… Leaving him to die… All for the sake of information?! What could’ve been so important that drove a small girl like that to end lifes?

Regardless, there was no place for forgiveness in Mishira’s heart.

“Forget about that. It’s all in the past! And it's time to start on a new future!” He shook his head and smiled with confidence, rushing down the hall to go explore the resort.

 

* * *

 

**Soliana resort - Beachside**

The beach was filled with all sorts of people; some talking, others playing on the sand and some just idly swimming in the clear and beautiful azure waters, that shone with mesmerizing radiance.

The salty wind caressed Mishira’s cheeks and he shielded his eyes from the sun, shining bright in the sky, with no clouds in sight to interfere. He smiled and took a deep, relaxing breath.

“It's been a while since I’ve been able to just chill and relax. Might as well start now.”

He was about to make his way to the water,  but stopped as he heard what sounded like a commotion nearby.

“What’s happening?” He looked over to the source of the sound and saw a guy who would perfectly fit the description of douchebag in the dictionary, and to top it off he seemed to be harassing an elderian female.

“Hey babe, heard you’re from a planet where people endure some harsh stuff.” The mook said with a perverted look in his eyes.

“I suppose you could say that, yes. What's your point?” The elderian did not sound pleased.

“How about you accompany me back to my room and show me the lengths of your... _endurance_.” The look on man’s face was in all the levels of perversion, and the girl couldn't look more disgusted.

“How dare you!!” She gave a clean slap across the man’s face, which made a huge _smack_ noise that was heard across the beach.

“Ooooh, that's gonna sting….” Mishira muttered while wincing.

Both him and the eldarian woman were expecting the male to limp away after that, but to their surprise, his grin only got bigger and his expression more... _intoxicated_.

“Damn… you’re feisty. Don’t tell me you’re _that_ eager?” The brute chuckled.

“Ugh… You creep!” The woman quickly pulled back her hand, her face distorted in a mix of fear and utter disgust.

Mishira frowned and was about to step in, but from the corner of his eye he saw someone approach the two.

“Excuse me kind sir, but I got a better deal for ya.” Spoke a kind, innocent sounding voice.

“Huh?” The man turned around towards the voice.

There, stood a bunnier. If you took aside the long, rabbit ears and small, fluffy tail; the boy could easily pass for a normal earthling. He had blond, messy hair, blue eyes and a big, diagonal scar going across his face. The boy wore a dark green t-shirt that said _‘Hip Hop’_ , baggy black pants and some bracelets on both of his wrists.

“Don't waste your time with this stick in the mud! If sturdy girls are what you’re after, then I have the perfect ticket right here.” The rabbit boy took out from his pocket what seemed to be a piece of paper with a phone number on it. “This little number here will treat you just right I guarantee! She’s not one to give in easy either.” He winked with a mischievous smile.

“Ay alright! Now we’re talking!” The douchebag reached for the piece of paper, but the bunnier quickly pulled his hand back, keeping it out of reach.

“Nah-ah-ah! Not so fast Jack! This golden pass here ain’t for free! You gotta play a little game first.” The blondie explained as he wagged his finger.

“The fuck? What kind of game?” The man asked, quickly becoming annoyed.

“It's simple really! Just guess in which paw the ticket is in. Pick the correct one and _voilá_ ; The ticket is yours.”

Mishira and the elderian were at a safe distance from the two, silently watching as things played out.

“...Ok then fur ball. I’ll play your little game.” He smirked with confidence.

The bunnier swiftly put his hands behind his body before bringing them back around, with both of them closed.

“Nooooow… Guess in which paw the ticket is! Oh but don’t worry! Even if you get it wrong I'll still give you a reward.” The rabbit boy smiled innocently.

The degenerate male kept smirking as he pointed to the boy's left hand. “Huh, your race must be pretty bad at making games eh? I choose left.”

“Oh heeeey! Nice, you get a reward!” The bunnier cheered with a big smile.

The man lifted his face with pride, thinking he had won. But his disgusting smirk was gone in the next second, because before he could even blink, the rabbit boy slashed across the man’s left cheek with a dagger.

“AAAAH! What the hell?!” Suddenly very startled and scared, the man stepped back with shaky legs and stumbled onto the sandy floor, landing on his butt. “You promised me a reward!”

“Oh? But I did reward you. The reward for harassing others is a clean cut of meat.” The bunnier explained with the same innocent smile, now brimming with a murderous intent. “Now, would you like to try again? I’m sure you'll get it right this time!” He said while twirling the knife around his fingers.

“G-Get away from me you psycho!!” The man screamed and got up, retreating in terror. He ran past Mishira and headed in the direction of the hotel.

“Jeez. No one likes to play with sore losers ya know?!” He screamed after the man, faking a pout. “Playing games are fun but someone always has to ruin it by being a spoilsport.” The blondie mumbled as he quickly wiped the blood off his dagger.

“Anyway are you okay miss?” He turned around to check on the elderian, but she was already gone. “...Maaaan, just a whole bunch of ingrates around here.” He sat down on the sand while sighing and scratching his head.

Mishira laughed softly and approached the boy.

“That was pretty funny. Did you even have the ticket in your other hand?” The bunnier looked up in surprise and gave a smug grin as he revealed both hands to have daggers in them.

“Nope, the number was in one of my bracelets the entire time.” He took out a piece of paper from underneath a brown leather bracelet on his right wrist. “Tadaaaaa.” He said in a mocking tone and put the two daggers inside his pockets.

“I see.” Mishira replied with a smile.

The rabbit boy crossed his arms and tilted his head. “Are all you humans like this? I heard you guys were supposed to be responsible for achieving great feats... but right now the only thing you bunch seem to be capable of is making other races get super pissed.”

Mishira looked to the side and scratched his cheek with an embarrassed smile.

“Yeah well... there's a lot of rotten apples amongst us humans, not gonna lie. But I swear, we're really decent people! ...Most times!”

The bunnier didn't seem to believe it.

“Oh really? Cuz I heard your race gets into a loooot of wars over the most stupid shit.”

Mishira shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “I'm afraid that's true. We slaughter each other for the most idiotic things sometimes, but hey, we did some pretty amazing stuff too!”

“Really? Like what?”

“We uh… managed to make peace with you guys! And without you blowing something up! I’d call that a win.” He smirked, victorious.

“Heeeeey! We only throw bombs in self defense! ...Or if we don't have anything funnier to throw.” The bunnier explained hesitantly, his ears drooping.

“Riiiight.” He said with a sarcastic tone and rolled his eyes.

“Don't you go thinking you guys are so wise. You humans get lost so easily, you'd fly around uranus multiple times thinking it was your own butt.”

“Hey, we don't get so lost! And even if we did, you'd be surprised how many other people would just as get confused navigating through the stars!” Mishira retorted.

“Are any of those people NOT earthlings?” The bunnier questioned with a smug look.

Mishira’s mouth opened, but finding no comeback to the rabbit boy, he remained silent.

“Heh, thought so. I bet you don't even know your way around this resort.”

“Uh… w-well, this IS my first time here so… I guess no?” He shrugged and the blonde pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.

“I expected as much. Guess it can't be helped.” The bunnier groaned and got up.

“Huh? What can't be helped?”

“It’s obvious that if I leave you alone, you'll end up tripping and falling into a black hole somewhere, and I'm not taking that chance. So, I’ll be your tour guide.” He pronounced, puffing his chest with a wide smile.

“What?! So you're saying that you actually know your way around here?” Mishira asked with a skeptical tone.  

“Course I do. Gotta learn about the other species somehow. Besides, getting lost when there are so many maps around would be super lame” He smirked at Mishira, who pouted.

“Well excuuuuse me. But this place is huge!” He crossed his arms, a little offended.

“Yeah yeah, whatever helps ya sleep at night buddy.” The bunnier held out his hand. “By the way, name's Samuel Ignatius, my friends call me Iggy. Nice to meet ya.”

Mishira smiled and shook Iggy’s hand. “Nice to meet you Samuel. I’m Mishira Kotatsu.”

Iggy nodded and then turned to leave. “Now if you'll follow me, this humble tour guide will lead you to some of Soliana’s most dazzling hotspots.” He empathized the ‘dazzling’ by making jazz hands.

Mishira snorted and followed Iggy as they went back to the hotel. But they didn't go too further in.

The bunnier lead them into a separate room filled with identical looking machines. They all seemed like metallic coffee pots, except without the pot. Each one of the machines had little blue rings made of light, which surrounded the main platform.

“We’ll take one of these to get around faster.” Iggy said as he stepped forward. But Mishira hesitated to follow.

“Uh… what exactly are these things?” He scratched his head and looked around the room, seeming a bit confused.

Iggy turned around with a look of bewilderment. “What do you mean? This is the transporter room.”

“Trans… porter... room?” Mishira tilted his head.

“Wait… don't tell me… you don't even know what a transporter is?!” The blonde seemed almost insulted, judging by his tone of voice.

“Mm… No?” The boy scratched his head with a sheepish chuckle.

“Oh Jeez… This is gonna be tougher than I thought…” The bunnier facepalmed and took a deep breath, walking over to one of the machines.

“Okay, pay attention, these things here are transporters. These wonderful little machines transfer your molecules from one place to the another. Everyone and their mothers use them cuz it's way faster and more convenient than just walking around everywhere.”

“Wait… so I could’ve just used this instead of the stairs?!” Mishira’s voice had a mix of amazement and indignation.

“Indeed. Stairs were only built here for the athletic nuts to use. Hardly anyone else ever uses them.”

“Wow… interesting… I had no idea!” The boy laughed as he thought back to the many flights of stairs he had to climb when Zekro and him arrived at the hotel.

Sighing and muttering something about the ‘lameness of humans’ under his breath, Iggy typed something in one of the machines and hopped onto the platform. “Cmon slowpoke. We still have an entire resort to see.”

“Alright alright... I'm coming…” Mishira dragged himself onto the platform, still looking a bit unsure.

A noise echoed through the room, followed by a robotic voice.

_“Next stop: second floor. Please, keep all body parts inside the platform. Our company is not held responsible for any damage and/or destruction of limbs and organs during the process.”_

“...WAIT WHAT?!” Mishira's eyes widened and in mere seconds they both were enveloped in a blue column of light, disappearing moments later.

 

* * *

 

In the second floor of the lobby, Zekro was sitting on a chair, sketching aliens in his little drawing tablet. There was still some time before the grand unveiling of the new battle simulator, but the boy couldn't stand being far from the virtual chambers, so he decided to stay close until it was time for the party to begin.

“Hm... I wonder if there are actual aliens that look like this out there.” He pondered, looking at his sketches.

One of them seemed to be that of a synthetic dragon/machine hybrid, its skin barely hanging on. The other seemed to be more basic: a weird, black coated figure, with flat arms, dainty legs and six wings on its back.

“ ...Nah, that's silly.” Zekro he clicked on the screen and erased both pieces, before starting a new sketch.

While he was drawing, a girl entered the lobby, eating a cheeseburger with one hand and working on some kind of mechanic device with the other, seeming rather displeased.

“Ugh, the output in this is way lower than what I was expecting. For a resort planet they sure sell some garbage tech.”

The girl was from the melrian race. She had gradient purple hair tied in a messy ponytail, slightly blue skin with gills clearly visible on her neck and bright, orange eyes. On her ears there were teal colored headphones with golden details. She was wearing a black jacket over a magenta shirt that had ‘ _COMET ME BRAH_ ’ written in white, grey shorts and black boots with red ( _and sharp?!_ ) heels.

She frowned at the device and sighed in annoyance.

“Whatever.” The fish girl grumbled as she took another bite out of the burger, before tossing it away. She didn't even aim for the trash can, she just threw it and hoped for the best.

Unfortunately, the burger ended up hitting Zekro and his tablet. Ketchup and pickles flew on his hair while a half eaten, greasy meat patty fell on the screen.

“HEY!” He snapped at her, getting up from his seat. “What the hell was that for?! Were you even aiming at the trash can?!” But the melrian only shrugged, not bothering to look in Zekro’s direction.

“Someone will be there to clean it up. It's still trash by the end of the day.” The girl spoke as she poked her little device.

Zekro glared at her and pointed to his ruined drawing tablet, still sitting under the greased meat. “It's not easy to work on designs you know?! I just had the perfect momentum too...”

The girl turned him with an unimpressed expression. “Dude, they’re just lines on a screen. I  wouldn't exactly call that ‘hard work’” She said in a mocking tone, using air quotes.

A nerve inside Zekro’s mind snapped and his eyebrow twitched.

“...Are you saying that drawing doesn't take hard work?” He glared at her.

“All I’m saying is that, if we were to compare something like sitting on your ass and simply doodling, to actual useful work… ” She trailed off, smirking at Zekro. “It’s merely a hobby.”

After some seconds of silence, his frown turned into an innocent smile. “You seem like a girl who likes devices. Do you also like games?”  

The girl shrugged “I play them sometimes. Usually ends up in crying though.”

“Excellent. In 15 minutes you and I will go at it in the new virtual chamber. If you win, I’ll hook you up with some high quality parts for your little toys.” He spoke with a sweet and calm voice.

The melrian girl shot a cold glare at Zekro. “They are not toys! It actually takes time and work to make these...” But he didn’t let her finish.

“Oh really? Seems merely like a hobby. Who’d waste their time on that? Oh wait...” His smile turned into an amused smirk.

“ ...In 15 minutes, you'll be going along with that burger.” She grinned with confidence, showing a collection of very sharp and pointy teeth.

“Could say the same to you. While you’re there, don’t forget to pick the pickles out of your hair.” Zekro retorted.

Sparks of animosity could practically be seen between the two.

 

* * *

 

Mishira and Iggy arrived on the second floor, in a transporter room similar to the one they were previously in. Though Mishira wasn’t very gracious about their arrival. In fact, he leaped off the platform and fell on the floor, hugging it with desperation in his eyes.

“W-what the hell just happened?! You never said this thing could practically kill us! That was so freaking weird!” He frowned and looked up to Iggy, who was just nonchalantly getting off the platform with both hands in his pockets.

“Calm down will ya? That’s how transporting works. You'll be surprised by how fast you’ll get used to it.”

“I never want to get on that thing again” Mishira said in a rather dramatic voice and got up, legs a little wobbly.

“Yeah, sure. You do you mate. Now let’s go. We’re wasting time.” The bunnier shrugged and walked out of the room, not bothering to wait for the other boy.

“Oh hey wait! Jeez! Slow down!” Mishira followed out of the room and into a long, illuminated hallway full of all kinds of people.

But as they made their way down, Iggy abruptly stopped, making Mishira, who was too distracted looking around, bump into him.

“Huh? Why did you stop Samuel? Something wrong?” Iggy remained silent, making a gesture for Mishira to ‘wait and shut up’. While the boy didn’t really understand, obeyed the blonde, staying silent.

Iggy’s ears were raised his ears high above his head, flaunting and fidgeting as if they were some kind of sonar, scanning around the area. After what seemed like a minute, the rabbit boy, who had kept a serious and intense expression till now, started frowning and shuddering in fear.

“Ah crap... they’re here too. Fuck. I thought we would be able to escape from them.”

“Huh? Who’s here?” Mishira asked carefully, taking Iggy’s behavior as permission to talk again.

The bunnier sighed and turned to face the boy.

“Look, you seem like a nice kid, so I gotta warn you about the kind of people we might face up ahead.” He explained, pointing to a direction at the end of the hallway.

“You mean like… dangerous people?” He raised an eyebrow, confused and slightly worried.

“Uh… in a way yes?” Iggy had a funny expression on his face, like he was unsure of the answer. “I assume you know about famous people like Bouillabaisse?”  

Mishira’s eyes practically lit up when he heard the name.

“D-do I know him?! Of course I do! He's like, one of the greatest mans to ever sail across the Star ocean! Not only did he make the rank of captain at such a young age, but they say he's a god with a blaster...” Iggy politely stopped him (by shoving a hand over his mouth), since he noticed the boy could probably spend hours rambling about his hero.

“Okay I get it. So you do know him.” He took his hand away from Mishira’s mouth “Well, the people ahead know him too… but their kind can get a bit… hostile.” He said with a grimace, and hesitantly walked forward. “When we head inside, do not make eye contact. Just ignore them and stay close so we can get to the next room.”

Mishira didn't quite understand what the rabbit boy was on about, but it sounded like there were some unpleasant folk in the room ahead. He mentally braced himself for it and nodded, following Iggy into the room.

When they stepped inside, the scene before them was enough to make Iggy cringe and Mishira’s jaw drop.

It looked like a conference, and the main theme was _heroes_. Not only the revered captain that Mishira knew and admired, but other figures of great status and power as well. One could describe it as a gathering of fans.

Except, mere _fans_ would be too light of a term.

Surrounding multiple tables there were people attempting to dress as the celebrities, some even went all aboard, changing their own physical attributes just so they could resemble their favorite idol. The tables, which were probably meant for food at first, were littered with… odd choices of art. The thought of someone putting so much work into something so _unnatural_ was more then unsettling.

There were multiple figurines of the celebrities, all in different shapes and sizes. Some of them even had rather generous proportions added to them, some only slight, others VERY obvious to not notice. The groups of people around them seemed to be fighting more than talking however.

“Samuel… where the hell are we?” Mishira questioned under his breath, afraid of being noticed.

“This is one of the darkest corners of the universe. These people here are obsessed with heroes, warriors, stuff like that; so they’ve devoted their whole life to attempts of replicating or improving their idol’s image.”

Iggy frowned while looking around, pointing with his head to the groups of people that were shouting at each other.

“And then there’s those who seek to ‘correct everyone in everything’, aka, assholes who believe that everything should be done a certain way, according to the specifications.” He sighed. “Worst part is, it's not just bunniers or humans, there are like, thousands of people like these amongst every race we know. What we're seeing now is just a fraction of them.”

“Dear god…” Mishira felt his stomach sink as he thought back to how he could have been considered one of these people, having his own statue of an idol he practically prayed to.

The bunnier had been looking over the crowd since they entered the room, and suddenly his face lit up. He grabbed Mishira by the shoulder, bringing him closer.

“Look. See there?” Iggy pointed to a door in the far back of the room. “The exit is over there. So whatever you do, remember: no eye contact, no glancing at the pictures and, whatever happens, don’t stop to look at the figurines.” He warned and took a deep breath, carefully making his way across the crowd.

With a nervous gulp, the smaller boy nodded, and began to follow the bunnier, making sure to not get too far away from him. As the two walked across the convergence of strange beings, Mishira’s eyes couldn't help but trail off and only glance at some of the people around the room.

But the moment he did, he instantly regretted his decision. It was a elderian, his entire head shaved clean and wearing a frilly dress/armor mishmash. Mishira wasn't really sure what to make of it, but he knew he had to stop looking before the man caught his glance.

However the damage was already done, because as Mishira turned his eyes back to the exit, he couldn't find Iggy anymore.

Crap. Mishira cursed under his breath and hurriedly looked around for where the bunnier could’ve gone. But it was hopeless. He couldn't find him amongst all those people.

Regretting his life decisions, he decided to make his way to the exit as quickly and silently as possible. But soon enough, he bumped into someone.

“O-oh excuse me! I didn't...” Mishira apologized in reflex and backed away from the stranger. To his surprise, it wasn't someone dressed head to toe in odd clothing.

The small girl was a bunnier like Iggy, with her fluffy ears and tail in a pinkish-white color.

She had long blonde hair, though it was darker than Iggy's, and went down to her hips, midnight blue eyes and a noticeable scar on her right cheek. The smol loli was wearing a black T-shirt with cartoon rabbit designs, dark blue pants, a silver necklace and a pair of worn out white sneakers.

“Uh… Sorry! Didn't mean to bump into you.” He stopped staring at the girl and resumed his apology.

“Oh, It’s ok!” She replied cheerfully. “Did you come to yell at someone too? There’s a lot of that going on today.”

Mishira sheepishly scratched his head. “Uh no, thanks. Don't wanna make my throat sore cuz of screaming. Besides I’m not a fan of a lot of noise, I'm actually just passing by.”

“Hehe, yeah I can't stand all the loud noises either, but its a job that pays really well soooo...” She trailed off and shrugged.

“Job? Aren't you a little young to be working in a place like this?” He questioned, looking at her with a bit of concern.

“That's what most people told me, but then I just had to show how well I could do the job, and they said I’d be perfect for it!” The bunnier smiled, raising her hands in the air.

“What… is your job exactly?” The boy asked, curious.

She was about to answer, but their conversation was interrupted by the sound of glass breaking.

“YOU MUST BE SMOKING ON SOME HIGH LEVEL SPACE KUSH SIR!” Yelled a voice from across the room.

“What was that!?” The small bunny girl glanced around and hopped over to the commotion. Worried about her safety, Mishira followed.

There they found two guys arguing. Big surprise.

To the left was a 16 year old kid dressed in a poor Majima costume, with a jacket painted gold and crudely drawn attempts of the mad dog's chest tattoos on his shirt.

The one on the right was dressed in the uniform for males in doki doki literature club. He was the one throwing a tantrum. Or, if you wanna be literal, throwing glass.

“How can you say that the great Bouillabaisse would prefer chicken over beef?! A refined man such as him would only dine on the most elegant of dishes, and chicken is figuratively, and literally, poultry in comparison to the supremacy that is beef!” The doki doki nerd shouted.

“And I’m telling you that a man with such as high intelligence as him, would know that the eloquent taste of the avian species is far more appealing!” The Majima ripoff slammed his hand on the table. “And anyone who thinks he would dare waste half of a taste bud on that borish substitute for food is a fool!”

The two seemed ready to fly at each other's throats, but before that could happen the rabbit girl walked up to them.

“I… heard something break…” she said with a disappointed tone.

The man in the Goro Majima outfit quickly became nervous, stopped talking and stared at the girl, however other guy didn't seem affected.

“Look little girl, I'm sorry if i raised my voice and scared you. But surely you can understand my frustration when this _cretin_ ” He pointed at his opponent. “dared to think that one of the star's greatest defenders would try and put chicken in his mouth of all things!” The nerd shivered to show his disgust at the thought.

The bunnier didn't even seem to acknowledge the ramblings, as she stared at the broken pieces of what was once a drinking glass on the floor.

“And I was trying to tell this neanderthal, that beef would not even grace a cabin boy’s mouth, much less a star captain like Bouillabaisse.” The other explained, in a more calm tone.

Mishira stood there, dumb struck.

“Y-you two were fighting over whether he liked chicken… or beef?” He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“YES!!” Both men shouted at the same time.  

“It is a very serious matter! Why, just the thought of him dining on inferior junk foods could endanger the uni-” The doki doki nerd was about to start rambling, but the young bunnier girl cut him off.

“...I thought we made a rule about not breaking anything.” She asked quietly, picking up a shard of glass off the ground.

“Well, yeah. But it's just glass. I’m afraid some items must be broken to deliver a point. Pretty sure even a kid like you can understand at least this much.” The doki fanboy seemed completely calm, while the guy in the Majima suit had begun to step back, glancing nervously between the boy and the bunnier.

Suddenly, she raised her head with a cheery expression.

“Ok, then let's promise that when discussing chicken or beef, it's okay to smash things and no one gets punished!” She smiled and held out her hand for a handshake.  

“Yeah, that's more like it! Seems there are sane people in this galaxy after all.” The nerd smiled as he grabbed the girl's hand.

“He’s dead...” The Goro fanboy muttered as he created more space between him and the two.

Mishira wondered why he was practically running away from the scene, but his answer came rather quickly. The moment he took his eyes off the girl and the doki nerd, there was a loud thud, followed by a scream.

Turning back to the two, Mishira was shocked to see the man face down on the floor with the bunny girl onto his back, twisting his left arm.

“Oopsie! I broke my promise! Jeez, that wasn't very nice of me.” The girl giggled as she tightened the grip on the man's arm, twisting it more.

“GAAAAAAH! I thought you promised that n-no one would get punished!!” The fanboy cried in pain.

“Well, the rules here are like little promises don't cha think? So if someone just breaks them… it hurts me you know.” She said in a melodramatic voice and kept twisting his arm. Mishira could practically see the bone about to snap.

“AAAAAAAAHHH!” The man screamed and cried. “I-IM SORRY!! I PROMISE I WON'T BREAK ANOTHER RULE!” He begged, pleading for the pain to stop.

“Are you suuuure? You’re not just lying, are you?” She asked with a playful tone.

“NO! NO I'M NOT LYING!!” Tears from the pain and fear rolled down his cheeks. “I promise I promise!” He repeated over and over, shaking his head desperately.

With a smile and nod, the bunnier finally released him, leaving him to stir in agony on the ground for a few seconds.

“Please don't break anymore promises. It's not fun for anyone.” The girl asked with a polite bow.

“L-let's just... switch to a different subject.” The Goro fanboy approached the guy on the floor, helping him get to his feet and walking off with him to a different direction. However, both kept glancing back to the girl, with fearful expressions.

Eventually, they were out of view and the bunny girl turned back to Mishira, who flinched in instinct.

“Sorry you had to see that. People who breaks promises like that are so dumb!” The girl pouted.

She didn't seem to notice (or, if she did notice, didn’t seem to care) the terror on Mishira’s face.

God, please, may he never have to make any promises with this girl.

“Hm? Is something wrong?” She tilted her head and got closer to him.

“Oh n-no! It's nothing!” He said, in a rather high pitched voice. “A-anyway, do you think you can show me the exit? I was trying to find my way out but now I'm just plain lost.”

The bunnier happily nodded. “Of course! It's right this way!” She hopped through the conference room, which seemed a lot calmer and less chaotic after the little show, and Mishira followed her, at least two steps behind.

“So, why did you come here anyway? Places like these don't tend to be very friendly.” She asked, glancing back.

“Well… someone I met was helping me with a tour of the place, but we had to get through this room to get to the other side and I… kind of lost him in the crowd.” He scratched his cheek.

“Oh no! You lost a friend! That's terrible! If you want help, I can try to find him!”

“Oh no, that's ok. Also, this place seems like it would fall apart if you left.” He chuckled. “Thanks for offering though.”

The bunny girl seemed a bit disappointed. “I suppose...” After a few moments of silence she turned to face Mishira. “T-then... can we be friends?” She blushed and looked away, embarrassed.

“Friends?” He looked at her with a bit confused but nodded anyway. “Well, sure. If you want to be.” He smiled. “Who'd say no to having more friends, right?”

Her face practically sparkled and she jumped up and down, smiling.

“Yay! It's very nice to meet you! My name is Adria Morana! But you can just call me Ria!”

“Okay then.” Another chuckle. “Nice to meet you Ria. I’m Mishira Kotatsu.”

“Oooh! Then, can I call you Mish? You know, since we're friends?” She asked, clapping her hands. ‘Mish’ just shrugged.

“Sure why not.”

Maybe the girl wasn't as dangerous as she seemed earlier. Might be normal in the bunnier race, given how Iggy acted at first.

“Alright! Aaaand, here’s your exit!” Ria happily skipped over to a door, with Mishira following.

“Thanks for your help Ria.”

“Anytime! We’ll see each other again, right?” She asked with a hopeful expression.

“Sure thing! I’ll see you around!” Mishira smiled and watched as she went back into the crowd, disappearing from his sight. He sighed and turned to the door, a wave of relief washing over him. At least he managed to survive with everything intact.

Or well, mostly everything.

“Sure hope Samuel is still alive…” He muttered under his breath and left the room.


	3. A fleeting sense of peace (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The long awaited virtual battle chambers finally open, and Mishira quickly realizes that, what was supposed to be just a game, takes an abrupt and dangerous turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *drops this beast of a chapter and goes to hide under blankets* ;w; hope y'all enjoy it  
> Join the [BSG discord](https://discord.gg/C9F4BX6) and subscribe to their [YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSbuezxekbGdTGMcrxE5I9g)!

As soon as Mishira was at least a foot away from the door, he let out a sigh.

“Wow. I know the universe is big and stuff... but that was what I last thing expected to find in any corner of the galaxy.” He sighed again and glanced back to the closed doors with a worried expression. “Sure hope she stays safe…” But after remembering the bunnier’s skills Mishira started to worry for everyone else's safety instead.

“Wonder what she’ll do to them if they break another promise.” 

He chuckled a bit and went down a long hallway, looking around for the missing Bunnier.

“It can’t be that hard to lose a man with Bunny ears in this place… Right?” His voice was laced with uncertainty as he walked around a group of Bunniers. “...Or maybe it is. He could’ve just blended in for all I know.”

After walking around for some minutes, Mishira found himself in a library. He walked in, muttering a small _‘Wow…’_ while looking at the mountains of books that filled the shelves from top to bottom. This was the first time Mishira had ever been to a resort planet, but he never expected to find a place like this in a tropical paradise. But a sharp pain on his head yanked him out of his dumbfounded state.

“Ow! What the…” Rubbing the top of his head he saw a random book on the floor and looked up, noticing someone on the upper floor of the library tossing books out of the shelves while giving no fucks to where such books landed. Mishira frowned. “I swear if that’s Samuel... “ He mumbled while walking up a spiral staircase. “He said he’d give me a tour… What kind of tour guide just leaves the tourist behind and goes read books?”

The moment Mishira reached the upper floor he noticed a small, high pitched noise ringing in his ear. He tried to ignore it and continued to walk towards the bookcase, but the closer he got, the louder the noise became.

“Ugh! What’s with that annoying noise?!” He couldn’t help but cover his ears in an attempt to make it stop, but alas, it didn't. Just when his eardrums seemed on the verge of popping, the noise abruptly once Mishira reached the bookcase. “The hell…?” He frowned and looked around. “Did someone leave their radio too loud or some… thing…” He trailed off as his eyes locked onto a person in front of the bookcase: Sarah. She didn’t look any older than the last time he had seen her as a child.

She smiled and him and held out some books. “This place has so much stuff! Symbology, runeology, synthesising… It’s like a gold mine for nerds! Isn’t this great Mishira?”

Mishira frowned, his expression filled with anger and hate. “Y-you…!”

“Mm? What’s with the scary face Mishira?” Sarah dropped the books and reached out to his arm. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.” He slapped her hand away. “...Mishira?”

“DON’T TOUCH ME!” He stepped back. “GET AWAY FROM ME!”

“Hey what’s gotten into you? You need to calm down you’re embarrassing me!”

“Calm… down? CALM DOWN?!” He grabbed the first thing he could find, which was a heavy book. “You’re the crazy psycho that slaughtered an entire town and _I’M_ the one who needs to _CALM DOWN?_ ” Mishira growled, baring his teeth as he raised the book higher.

“Look, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but it’s me! Your friend! So calm down…” She kept walking towards him. “And drop the book.”

“Stay back! Don’t you dare come near me!” Panting and with dilated pupils, his whole body was trembling with a mix of powerful emotions. His mind was foggy and just when he was about to throw the book…

“MISHIRA WAKE THE FUCK UP” Someone yelled in his ear, holding his arm in place.

“...Huh?” The boy blinked a few times, only now noticing how blurry his vision was. When he looked up he recognized the face in front of him. “S-Samuel? When… when did you...”

Iggy let go of his arm and rubbed his neck. “The hell got into you man? Ya were screaming like I was some sort of demon or shit.”

“W-what? No… I wasn’t screaming at you I was screaming at Sarah…” He trailed off when he saw the empty space behind the bunnier. No girl, no ghosts, nada. Mishira stood there, panting, shaking, sweating… and of course, very confused.

The bunnier crossed his arms with an annoyed look. “Sarah? Who the hell is that?”

“...A despicable person.” Mishira muttered with a dark expression and turned away, walking down the stairs.

“Whoa hey! Wait for me!” Samuel ran after him and both of them left the library. “Jeez, is that the way to treat your tour guide? I looked all over the place for you! You humans are such…” He cut himself off after catching a glimpse of Mishira’s expression. “...Ooookay then.”

They both walked in an awkward silence. Samuel kept glancing at Mishira’s face, trying to read his expression, but it was clear that any subject regarding what just happened would make things worse.

“Sooo… What do you like… Do for a living?” The bunnier said with a cringe. This was a forced conversation topic yes, but hey, better than awkward silence.

“...I’m studying so I can… I dunno build stuff.” Mishira replied weakly.

“Really? Building? Is that something profitable?”

He shook his head. “I don’t wanna do it for the money… at least not entirely.” He said with a small grin. “I just wanna… build a safe future for everyone.”

“A safe future?” The bunnier raised an eyebrow, slightly interested.

Mishira nodded. “Most people in the galaxy take paths given to them, others decide to make their own path. Well… that’s what I want to do.”

“Oh really? And what exactly do you plan to achieve from ‘making your own path’?” He asked with air quotes.

The green haired boy smiled bitterly. “A future no one can rob away.”

“...Yeesh. So serious.” Iggy shrugged. “Though, I suppose it’s not the worst goal someone can have. So, shoot for the stars I guess.”

“...Thanks.”

Suddenly the speakers in the hallway chimed and a robotic voice spoke:

“ _Attention resort patreons. Attention. The new virtual battle chamber event will soon commence. All parties interested please come to the hotel lobby. I repeat, the new virtual battle chamber event will soon commence. All parties interested please come to the hotel lobby._ ”

Iggy folded his arms and looked up. “Oh yeah that was today. I forgot.” When he looked over Mishira was already running. “Oi! Mishira!”

He glanced back. “Sorry but I can’t be late! See you later!” He waved and dashed ahead, leaving Samuel behind, confused and alone.

He sighed. “A battle chamber huh…” After some thought, the bunnier shrugged and ran after Mishira.  

 

* * *

 

The area was full of people, just as expected. Many tourists crowded the entrance and stayed in line so they could experience the new battle system. The four available rooms had guards in front of them, blocking off the public until the official opening. Above the doors, red screens with the word ‘LOCKED’ displayed.

“Wow. I knew this place was gonna be packed but… holy shit.” Mishira walked through the crowds until a familiar voice called him.

“Yo! Mishira! Over here! Zekro was waving in front of one of the doors to the battle chambers. He walked over, tiptoeing past the glaring and jealous line of people. “There you are. I thought I would have to give up your place in line!”

“Haha… Sorry.” He rubbed his neck. “I went look around a bit and well… some things happened.”

“Cool cool cool cool. Uuuh, just a head’s up.” Zekro pointed to a melrian across the room. She was in front of another one of the chambers and, for some reason, was glaring at the two boys. “We’re probably gonna be targeted by some melrians…”

“...Ain’t that like, one of the most dangerous species out there?” Mishira raised an eyebrow.

“Well, firstly, SHE STARTED IT!” Zekro shouted across the room, making sure she could hear him. But she did was roll her eyes and flip him off. “And secondly, if I got a nickel for every time I ignored the word ‘danger’...” He smirked. “I would have a soda machine worth of money.”

Mishira sighed. “And you’d probably be drinking those sodas though a hospital tube.”

“Hospitals are for wimps.”

At that moment, all lights went out and the stage in the middle of the room lit up.

“Ladies and gentlemen! Please welcome… Mister Dojima Fuuuuudooooo!” The announcer yelled as the game developer walked into the room along with his bodyguards, and the crowds yelled and cheered as hard as they could.

Dojima stopped when he reached the stage and smiled. “Hello everyone. I’d like to thank all of you who could make it today. Seeing so much support warms this old man’s heart.” He grinned with pride. “I hope each and everyone of you enjoy yourselves with my game. Nothing will make me happier than seeing all my fans smiling because of my creation. So again, thank you.” He bowed and the crowds cheered again. Zekro had a proud smirk on his face and Mishira clapped, smiling as well. “Now then… the moment you all have been waiting for!” Dojima pointed to the four locked rooms. “I declare the new R. A. C. S. system… open!”

As he said that the red screens above the doors changed to green with the word ‘OPEN’ displayed. The crowds went crazy and many people started charging towards the chambers, but were quickly stopped by the guards and employees. Mishira could hear them yell:

“Settle down! You’ll each get a turn to enter so please stay in line!”

“For those who haven’t found a partner, one will be selected for you based on your player profile! For those who already have determined partners, please wait until the selection has ended! Only then you’ll be allowed to enter the chambers!”

Mishira looked around the entrance of the other three chambers. The melrian girl stood in front of the last chamber, still staring daggers at them, but now a male melrian stood by her side, though they were too far away to identify who they were and in front of the other chamber he saw two girls with punk clothing casually talking. The only person he recognized was a bunnier in front of the second chamber.

“You are Samuel Ignatius, correct?” The employee asked while checking his tablet.

“Yup. That’s me.”

“I see. Then you’ll be paired up with miss Adria Morana.” The empoyee gestured with his hand, calling over someone behind Iggy. He turned his head and saw a small bunny girl approaching them with a happy smile.

“Hiiii!” She waved enthusiastically, coming to a stop beside Samuel, who frowned.

“Are you serious? You’re pairing me up with a kid?”

“I’m not just a kid! I can do a lot of grown up stuff too!” She argued, although the puffiness of her cheeks and tiptoeing didn't help her case.

“Oh really?” Iggy chuckled and knelt down to Ria's height. “Then why don't you show me how much of a big girl you are?” He said in a mocking tone, pinching her cheek.

She whined and turned to the employee. “Mister can you help me?”

He smiled warmly and nodded, holding out his arm towards the bunny girl. Ria grabbed onto it and used it to swing the man over her head, slamming his body on the floor. She then changed the position of her hands and twisted his arm backwards until a loud snap was heard, making Iggy flinch and mutter ‘ _damn’._

Ria let go of the arm and pointed at Samuel. “See? I can kick ass!” She turned to the employee and bowed. “Thank you for the help mister!”

The man got up and smiled, unfazed. “Of course Miss Morana. It was my pleasure.” He bowed as well and pat her head with his other hand.

Samuel stared in shock. “Wait… Doesn't that shit like… Hurt?”

“Oh, yes. Horrendously so. I'm in a great deal of pain right now.” He stopped patting Aria. “However a broken bone will not spot me from assisting Soliana's number one in crowd control.” Ria giggled and blushed at the compliment but Samuel just kept staring with a dumbfounded expression.

The employee gave a slight nod. “Then, I shall be taking my leave. Best of luck Miss Morana. Please don't slow her down Mister Ignatius.” With that he walked away from the two.

“Wow rude.” Iggy muttered when the man was out of sight and turned back to Ria. “So… Since you're here guess you like this kind of violent games?”

“I looove them! Especially the ones with plenty of stabbing!” She answered cheerfully, with a murderous gleam in her eyes.

“Gh!” Iggy clutched at his chest and closed his eyes. “Oh no… She's too precious. Must… suppress… the ‘hnnnngg’.”

Mishira chuckled as he watched the scene unfold before the employee responsible for his chamber called him and Zekro to walk in. The other teams were also called to enter their assigned chambers. The game was about to start.

 

* * *

 

The inside of the chamber is shaped like a hexagon, with the walls made of black and green panels that shone dully and reflected the light.

The boys exchanged confident looked and nodded, walking up to the main screen in the far back of the room and placing both hands on it.

“Chamber Activate!” They both exclaimed at the same time and the screen turned into a bright shade of blue, with rapid white text scrolling through it:

 _‘_ **Players: Zekro Fudo and Mishira Kotatsu.**

**Battleground: Planet Eden.**

**All systems engaged** _.’_

A computerized voice filled the room.

“ _Welcome to the new R. A. C. S. gaming system. Current featured have been updated to further your enjoyment. Weapons and armor will be given to you based on past records and player ranks. Please remember to give us your feedback and enjoy the simulation._ ”

The boys grinned eagerly as the room started to glow even more.

“ _We will begin in… 3… 2… 1._ ”

In the blink of an eye, the virtual chamber disappeared and the brothers found themselves standing on a wide and grassy forest clearing, with soft winds caressing their cheeks. Around them, trees till the eye can see, of all sizes and species and, not far away from where they stood, a small lake with clear blue waters.

“Whoa…” Mishira’s eyes sparkled as he looked around in awe.

“Sweet. A forest type of arena. This should be fun.” Zekro smirked as he examined their environment. “I’m impressed, they did a great job into making things feel realistic.” He crouched down to touch the grass and Mishira nodded, still taken aback by the new reality he was thrown into.

“Kay, now here’s the thing.” With a small groan, Zekro got up and turned to his partner. “The bad part about this kind of arena is that ambushing other players is way easier. So I’ll clear the path ahead and you keep on lookout. Got it?”

Zekro frowned, seeing Mishira completely ignored him, his gaze focused in the direction of the lake.

“Mishiraaaa? Hellooo?” He walked over and waved a hand in front of Mishira’s face. “The hell you staring at?” With a confused expression, he looked over to the same spot his partner’s gaze was locked onto, but saw nothing. Then it finally dawned on him. “...You’re seeing her again. Aren’t you?” The green haired boy’s face tightened as he slowly nodded. “What… is she doing now?”

“...She’s just… standing there. With her arms behind her back. She’s… smiling at me.” Mishira heard his brother mutter ‘ _bitch_ ’ with a growl. “...Hey Zekro? Can I ask you something?” His gaze never left the illusion.

“If this is about ghost punching then, trust me, it doesn’t work. Discovered that the hard way.”

“Did you ever… wish for something, ever _desire_ something so bad… that you’d kill for it?”

Zekro folded his arms and closed his eyes. “Well, I’d love to help dad’s secret project that I know he works on every night when everyone is asleep.” He opened his eyes and looked up. “I always ask if he wants my help and the answer is always a big fat ‘no’. That it’s ‘not meant for my eyes’. Sure, I’m hella curious, but I doubt I’d go swinging an axe at his head just for that.”

Mishira chuckled a bit and finally looked away from the lake. “Can you promise me something?” Zekro raised his eyebrows. “If I ever… If one day, I consider slaughter as means to getting what I want… please smack some sense into me.”

The blonde frowned, worry clearly visible in his eyes. But, seeing how determined his partner looked, he just kept his mouth shut and nodded.

“You have my word man.” Mishira nodded back and raised his fist. Zekro was about to raise his as well, when he caught a glimpse of something yellow and shiny flying in their direction just behind Mishira. “GET DOWN!” He pulled Mishira’s hand and shoved him out of the way, quickly drawing out the black and silver rapier provided to him by the game.

The flying object turned out to be a small, golden ball with the size of a closed fist. Not wanting to take any chances, Zekro quickly sliced the ball in half with his rapier. But in doing so, a light yellow mist was released from inside the small object, and the boy quickly realized his mistake.

“What the…! What the hell is this?! Gah!” He felt his body become stiff and numb, being unable to move a single muscle.

“That’s what ya get for sightseeing!” A girl’s voice echoed in the clearing and both boys looked up.

The melrian girl from before was sitting idly in a branch on a sturdy tree, swinging her legs back and forth with a mocking smile.

“Tch…! You…!” Zekro growled and struggled against whatever was holding his body in place, but to no avail. The girl’s smile only got bigger.

“Nothing personal kid, but never mock a lady and her machines.” She laughed and swung her body forward, falling in their direction. The melrian raised her right arm and a circle of shiny runic symbols begun to rotate around her hand and forearm. As she got closer, her arm started to take shape of a claw made of light.

“Viridi’s Claw!” The melrian yelled as she brought down her hand. The moment she made contact with the ground a mini explosion happened, creating a shallow crater around the area of impact. However, as she raised her head, she found no sign of Zekro. “...What.”

“You forgot about me!” Mishira said as he drew out the virtual greatsword strapped onto his back and swung it at the girl. She jumped back, dodging the attack and finally noticing what happened.

“Dammit… so you pushed him out of the way?” Her eyebrow twiched as she glared at Zekro, standing still safely behind Mishira. “Couldn’t you have stayed down for like, one more sec-- Shit!” She suddenly held her right arm with a pained expression. Her skin seemed redder around the area she had cast the light attack. “Well damn. There goes my plan for easy victory. Nice going dumbass!” She snapped at Mishira.

“Hey chill. Your deal is with me. Leave Mishira alone.” Zekro walked up to then and the girl widened her eyes.

“Y-you… you were supposed to stay paralyzed for 10 hours! What the hell?!” She pointed with her left hand at Zekro.

“Ah that? Yeah nice try, but if you bring outside tech into these games the system will find a way to tone down the effects so you don’t immediately defeat other players.” He smirked and brushed off some of the yellow dust on his clothes. “Guess now it’s my turn huh?” He pointed his rapier at her.

“Oh noooo. I’m sooooo scared.” She said with a deadpan expression. “What might I, a poor and defenseless damsel, shall d- Gh!” Her mocking was interrupted by a groan of pain. Mishira and Zekro exchanged hesitant looks.

“It seems that move she used is a double edged skill. Although I wouldn’t say she is defenseless…” Zekro looked around the area. “This is a team battle. That means her partner might still be around somewhere…”

Mishira did the same as him and inspected the arena. Just then he noticed something breaking the surface of the lake. “Zekro! There!”

As both boys looked over, getting into their attack stances, a man shot out of the lake, flying through the air silently and smoothly. It was the other melrian they had seen outside of the battle chamber alongside the fish girl.

The melrian boy had long and seafoam colored hair, and from that distance it almost looked like seaweed. His orange eyes locked onto the brothers and he lunged his trident, his slightly green skin practically shining with energy. Water started spinning around his weapon, coating it and basically creating a flying vortex of water.

Mishira and Zekro quickly leaped out of the way as the trident flew by and hit the ground. The moment it did a blue shockwave of energy resonated from the weapon and almost knocked both boys and the melrian girl to the floor.

“Whew… close one.”

“Tell me about it.” The brothers got back on their stances as they saw the melrian approaching.

“You two managed to avoid both of our attacks. That alone means you are not weak like the rest.” The man landed with grace and pulled his trident out of the ground, twirling it around his fingers. “Good job.”

The boys would have been flattered with the compliments, if the melrian’s clothing hadn’t taken their attention away. He was wearing a green chain link tunic and a golden tiara with blue jewels around his head.

“Uh… Thanks?” Zekro hesitated, raising an eyebrow.

“We may as well introduce ourselves, seeing as you two have earned the right to know the names of those who will defeat you.” The fish boy looked past the two brothers, over at his partner, who seemed to have recovered from the backlash of her own spell. “I am Zeal Ergiamory, one of the strongest of my race. You should feel honored.”

“Oh look… I can hear the fanfare…” The melrian girl muttered under her breath and walked to stand next to Zeal. “Anyways, I’m his supposed partner. Name’s Siren.” She yawned and played with her ponytail.

“Well, if you’re going through the trouble of introducing yourselves, why don’t we follow?” Zekro took a bow. “My name is Zekro Fudo. Game nerd, aspiring artist…” He raised his head with a smirk. “And the guy who’s about to make some great kalamari.” He quickly raised his spear and pointed it at Siren, who only raised an eyebrow, unamused.

“Uh… I’m Mishira Kotatsu. I’m here too I guess.” He shrugged and redied his greatsword. Zekro groaned.

“Cmoooon man! Ya gotta show a little more entushiam!”

Mishira sighed. “Do I really need to?” He pointed to their opponents, charing towards them at full speed.

“Heh. Maybe later then.”

Both teams met head on into battle. Zekro fought Siren head on, taking some kicks and punches, not being able to hit her even once. She had relentlessly kept the fight close quarters, swiftly striking with her claws and spiky heels each time the blonde wasn’t able to block or parry an attack. She had a cocky smile at all times, making the boy’s frown deepen.

Meanwhile, Mishira found himself at an impasse, seeing how his opponent was idly flying in front of him like it was no big deal. He had to wait for the right moment to strike.

“What’s wrong? Your companion seems to have no trouble throwing himself into the battle. Are you different?” Zeal cocked his head to the side, looking puzzled.

“You could say that…” The green haired boy smiled sheepishly.

“Very well. If you will not make a move, then allow me!” The melrian readied his trident and flew forward. The weapon’s sharp edges were quickly coated with a layer of ice.

Mishira raised his blade to parry the attack when his eyes caught glimpse of a person near the lake. The figure had the features of a young woman, wearing a long purple trench coat with a bronze chest plate that seemed to have the carving of a lion. Her face was covered by a helmet and yet, Mishira could somehow feel her gaze penetrate into his soul.

“Fool! Don’t take your eyes off battle!” Zeal’s voice brought Mishira’s mind back just in time to defend himself from the incoming attack. “Ica Glaive!” The melrian shouted as he stabbed his trident in the ground and sharp columns of ice sprout up.

“Gh!” Mishira jumped backwards, narrowly dodging the attack, with only one of the spears sightly grazing his cheek. “Ouch!” That spot of his skin felt blistering cold, almost as if it could freeze oves the wound.

“Yo Mishira! You okay?” Zekro called out. But while looking at his partner’s direction he happened to spot the mysterious girl as well. “Huh? Who’s that?”

Mishira’s eyes widened in surprise. “You can see her too?” He wanted to brush it off as another illusion but now it seemed unlikely. Zeal, noticing their gaze, looked back as well.

“Strange… I wonder how long that person was standing there… I do not recall anyone in front of the lake when I emerged out of it.”

“It’s… kinda creeping me out.” Mishira gulped nervously.

“Maybe it’s just another player waiting for their turn?” Zekro suggested, his back turned to the fish girl.

“Hey gamer boy!” Zekro widened his eyes, realizing his mistake, and snapped his head so quickly that he got whiplash. “Time to finish what we started!” He noticed the two screens in the melrian’s bracelets were glowing and, seeing the wicked smile she had, he felt his gut turn.

He grinned and raised his rapier. “Bring it on ya piece of carp!”

They both charged at the same time, ready to attack. Unfortunately for them, a larger tremor shook the ground, knocking both teams off balance.

“An earthquake…?” Zeal looked up, voice laced with worry.

Moments later, a holographic red screen appeared in the sky. It flashed on and off, with the word “EMERGENCY” on it.

“Is something going…” Suddenly, the boys found themselves back in the game chamber room where they started. “...on.”

“Heeeey! What gives? We barely got to do anything!” Zekro whined.

Not long after, they heard a sound ring throughout the room, followed by a robotic voice.

“ _Attention. Attention. All Soliana residents and tourists, please listen carefully.” Mishira and Zekro exchanged confused looks. “We regret to inform that all services will be temporarily shut down. We ask that you all please locate the nearest transporter room and travel to one of the many evacuation facilities. I repeat, please locate a transporter room near you and use it to travel to an evacuation facility as soon as possible._ ”

“...Evacuation facility?” Mishira frowned and looked at Zekro, who only shrugged.

The announcer’s voice was not done. “ _It seems the planet of Soliana is under attack by the terrorist group known as Chisiki Tigers._ ”

“WHAT?” The two boys exclaimed at the same time, expressions now filled with worry.

“ _Please remain calm and travel to the nearest transporter room. If you find yourself stuck in one of the activity rooms inside this building, do not worry. We will shortly stop all systems and you will be released. Thank you for your cooperation and we hope your stay was pleasant._ ”

From there the message started looping through the speakers.

“T-Terrorist?! Why the hell would terrorists target a resort planet?!” Mishira asked at the ceiling, as if the announcer would answer him. Meanwhile Zekro ran to the closed doors of the chamber, slamming his fists on them.

“Who cares?!” He glanced back at Mishira. “Let's just find our folks and get the heck out of here!” He turned his attention to the door and kicked it. “Open you stupid piece of metal!”

As soon as he said that the doors slid open and Zekro lept through them. “Let's go Mishira!”

The green haired boy stood still, frowning as he recalled the mysterious person inside the game.

“Could… could that person have anything to do with this…?” He muttered.

“MISHIRA GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE.” He heard Zekro's angry voice from outside the chamber.

“R-right! Coming!” He shook his head, leaving unnecessary thoughts for later, and dashed out of the room.

 

* * *

 

Siren and Zeal exited their game chamber just like everyone, walking straight into the lobby, filled with horrified tourists.

“Well ain't that just peachy. This hellhole of a planet has lame equipment, rude guests, and now they’ve got terrorists." Siren rubbed the back of her neck in annoyance. “5 star resort planet _my ass_!” She screamed at the crowd, making her melrian partner frown slightly.

“We should probably head towards the evacuation center like the announcement said...” He said with a calm voice but Siren just scoffed and turned her back.

“You can go there if ya want. I have my own way of getting out.” The melrian girl simply raised her hand as she left the lobby. “See ya. Try not to die.”

Zeal stepped forward to try and stop her but she had already blended in with the crowd and disappeared. With a worried expression, he sighed and went on a different direction, headed for the nearest transporter room.

After Siren left the lobby, she made her way through the panicking masses.

“Jeez people if you wanna freak out at least do it out of my way!” She tried pushing some bunniers aside but they only glared at her and didn’t move. The fish girl growled. “Ugh, fine! Stay there! Assholes.” Muttering the last statement, she made a turn and went down a less populated hallway, taking a shortcut under some stairs.

After turning a corner she ended up bumping into the girl in the large purple trench coat.

“Oh hey, it’s you.” Siren stared up and down the mysterious girl. “Look, a bunch of terrorists are attacking this place or something. If you don't want to die, take my advice and get the heck out.”

After a few seconds of silence the girl spoke in a collected voice. “We will not be going anywhere until we retrieve our target of interest.” She said while reaching for a blaster latched to her side.

“Target?” Siren raised an eyebrow “What the hell are you talking about?”

The girl didn’t seem interested in answering as she quickly aimed her blaster at the melrian’s head and shot. Siren easily evaded the blast with a rather bored expression.

“Well... that’s annoying.” She frowned and calmly walked closer to her attacker, who started to fire more rapidly.

Fortunately, none of the shots hit the fish girl, as she easily and quickly dodged all of them. When Siren got close enough, she delivered a swift jab to the intruders gut and a kick on their side, making the mystery girl hit the nearest wall. With a pained gasp, the assailant got knocked out. Siren approached her with a proud smirk.

“Look, you’re lucky I didn't need to use my babies or you’d be…” A sound similar to radio frequencies interrupted her gloating. She followed the sound to a small earpiece on the unconscious girl.

“ _...Come in..? ...Martha come in…? What is your position…?_ ” Even with all the static Siren managed to hear the transmission and an evil smile appeared across her face. She removed the earpiece off the girl and took out a very thin metal tool from her own pocket.

“Okay sweetie. You go ahead and take a loooong and nice nap. I’ll just borrow this from ya reeeeal quick.” Chuckling to herself, Siren walked away with the earpiece in hand, already fiddling with its insides.

 

* * *

 

Dojima Fudo and Rukia Fudo found themselves hiding inside a small and dark room from the cloaked figures with weapons, hungrily looking for the couple. They had managed to dodge and attack most of the assailants that stood in their way thanks to Dojima’s bodyguards, but now even those laid on the floor outside the room, bleeding out. While Rukia peeked out the door, analyzing their surroundings, Dojima paced around, muttering in a confused tone.

“This doesn’t make any sense… I was sure this planet was cloaked and protected with top notch technology… This sort of attack should have been impossible!” He frowned and took out a compact communicator, in an attempt to call for any outside help. However, all he could hear from the device was distorted static. “Dammit. My signal is being jammed! Must be the work of these pirates…”

“..All clear” Rukia closed the door and took a deep breath, glancing back at her husband with a worried look. “What do you think they could possibly want in a resort planet?”

Dojima stayed silent.

“Dear?” She raised an eyebrow, but still no response from him. “Dojima. Look at me.”

Her stern and harsh tone made him flinch, and he slowly raised his head, meeting her eyes.

“Our kids are out there and who knows if they’re hurt or lost or worse! Innocent people are fleeing in panic! Soldiers are dying! So if you have the slightest idea on what these people want then god help me I’ll--”

The door was kicked open and three cloaked soldiers stepped inside, aiming their guns at the married couple. Rukia’s expression darkened and she turned to their attackers.

“Excuse me… but me and my husband are TRYING TO HAVE A CONVERSATION!” Shining, ocean blue runes started circling her arms. With a wave of her hand, huge ice shards materialized in front of her, floating in the air with their tips aimed at the soldiers.

“ **Ice Needle!** ” She cried out, making the shards fly ahead and impale the intruders in various parts of their bodies. Their lifeless bodies fell to the floor, coating it in blood and pieces of ice. She turned her head to Dojima, who looked rather pale and frightened. “ _This conversation is not over._ ” She glared before running out of the room.

With a heavy sigh, Dojima shoved the communicator back into his pocket. “I suppose we all have to pay our price eventually…” He muttered under his breath and ran after his wife.

 

* * *

 

After leaving the battle station area, Zekro and Mishira quickly ran through the hallways, headed to the nearest transporter room they could find, but to their displeasure, they couldn’t even get close to it thanks to the many people crowding the entrance.

“Oh for fuck’s sake! Move people move!” Zekro shouted and pushed some tourists out of the way, trying to clear a path to the transporter. However, before he could cause a commotion by pissing off more people than necessary, an employee of the hotel grabbed his shoulder firmly.

“Young man, calm down. There’s nop need to make a fuss.” He said with a calm smile. “There is another transporter room on the first floor. I advise you use that one as it might be less crowded.”

Zekro, clearly very angry, brushed off the employee’s hand from his shoulder with a frown. He glanced at Mishira and sighed. “...Fine. Let’s go.”

Mishira nodded with a relieved smile. They turned around and resumed their running but didn’t get very far. Before they could reach the stairs to the first floor another earthquake shook the building and they had to lean on the walls to keep their footing.

“At this rate the barrier won’t last…” Mishira looked up nervously, afraid that the tremors had damaged the ceiling.

“We gotta hurry Mishira! If we don’t reach that transporter room we’ll--” As he said this, Zekro turned his head slightly and noticed two huge spider robots behind them. Their face plates opened to reveal guns aimed at the two boys. “Shit! Get down!” He reached back and grabbed Mishira’s arm, pulling him down and being just barely missed by the plasma beams.

Still on the floor, Mishira raised his head, a horrified expression filled his face as he stared at the pair of robots. “W-what are those things?!”

“I dunno. But they sure as hell ain’t here to play nice!” Zekro screamed, pointing at their attackers. Just behind them, the two boys could see more robotic spiders approaching.

“We gotta get out of here!” Mishira backed up to a wall, getting up with shaky legs, and felt his foot touch a metal pipe lying on the floor. With some quick thinking, he grabbed it and turned his back. “Cmon Zekro we gotta move!”

After making sure his friend was following him, Mishira moved quickly through the hallways, swinging the metal pipe at any robot that tried to attack them. But, unfortunately, he ended up leading them to a dead end.

“Shit! Mishira don’t you have a freaking map of this place?!” Zekro screamed, face red with anger as he stared at the army of giant robotic spiders approaching them.

“Of course not! Why do you think I had a goddamn bunnier be my tour guide?!”

“Shit…” Zekro pushed his hair back and did a rather goofy “karate” pose. “Come on you bastards! I’m not afraid to use my secret arts on you!”

Mishira rolled his eyes and readied the metal pipe. They both leaped at the robots and started to attack. Turns out they were powerful but not resistant, as the metal that surrounded their bodies could be easily damaged by a well aimed kick or pierced by the metal pipe.

“Jeez… whoever made these robots sucks at their job.” Zekro dodged a beam and delivered a punch to one of the spiders. Although, no matter how many they managed to break, more appeared to replace them.

“Guess they prefer quantity over quality!” Mishira said while swinging the pipe like a bat. Only then he noticed the faceplate of one of the robots behind Zekro was open and ready to shoot another beam. “Zekro! Look out! Behind you!”

Mishira tried to reach out to him but he tripped over a robot and face planted on the floor. Zekro, while dodging the beam, ended up losing his balance and fell on his butt. Countless spider robots sparted attaching themselves to their bodies. In the middle of their panic, they heard a familiar voice yell:

“ _COVER YOUR EARS!_ ”

What followed was a loud wave of energy that shook floor. With their eyes closed and ears covered, Zekro and Mishira couldn’t see what happened, they only felt the wave push their bodies with force before abruptly stopping. When they opened their eyes again, all the spider robots laid on the floor, unmoving and with black smoke coming out of them.

“...What the fuck?” Zekro asked, dumbfounded. “Are… robots supposed to self destruct like that?”

“N-Not that I know of…” Mishira replied, equally speechless.

“Hey give me some credit here! I just saved both of your asses!” The same voice as before now seemed rather offended.

“...Wait a minute.” Zekro cringed as he recognized the voice. “Not you…”

The two boys looked up to find the fish girl standing there, fiddling with a screen on her bracelet.

“You’re… Siren. Right?” Mishira asked as he stood up. Zekro merely stared at her with a frown.

“Oh so you remember my name!” She looked up from the screen with a smirk. “Guess you humans really can retain information sometimes huh?” The melrian walked up to the two. “Jokes aside, thanks to all these pieces of scrap metal most of the exits are locked and I can’t get to my ride. You.” She turned to Zekro. “You’re the son of that big important guy right? Any idea on how to solve this mess?”

Zekro sighed in annoyance. “You make it sound like I’m magical or something. No I don’t know how to solve this mess. I don’t even know where my father is.”

Siren groaned and hung her head. “And here I was thinking you would be useful…”

“Well…” Mishira’s voice was laced with uncertainty. “You clearly can take care of these things easily right? Why do you even need our help?” She glared at him and he flinched.

“You two clearly have no respect to someone who just _saved your life_.” She sighed. “Whatever. Guess I’ll have to find yet another exit… there should be one close to a transporter room though. The closest one is...” She closed her eyes, thinking.

“First floor. We were headed there.” Zekro answered. “You can tag along if you’d like.” He reached down and grabbed the metal pipe Mishira was using before.

Siren stayed silent for a few seconds, as if she was considering her options, before shrugging. “Eh, sure. Let’s hope that floor is not full of danger and death cuz that’s not on my schedule til wednesday.”

Mishira nodded with a smile. “Let’s go then!”

The three walked down the hallways and, thanks to Siren and the picture of a map she had, they managed to find the stairs to the first floor. On their way to the transporter room Mishira scooted closer to the melrian.

“How did you do that?” She looked at him with a confused expression. “The spider robots. How did you destroy all of them?”

Siren smirked. “I have my ways.”

She snapped her fingers and her long pink nails suddenly turned to a liquid look alike substance. It slided down her hand and circled around it, forming patterns across her blue skin. After the liquid stopped, the parts of her skin that could be seen were covered by a white layer of cloth. Mishira watched all of this with an amazed look. When the process ended, both of her hands were covered with white gloves that had pink patterns.

“These gems are just an example of what I can do.” She smiled and touched the wall; it started to melt and erode rapidly. “Acid gloves. I know, I’m great.”

“You… made those yourself?!” Mishira stared at the melted part of the wall she had touched.

“Yup! Pretty cool huh?” She closed both hands into fists and the gloves disappeared, stylish pink nails back on her fingertips. “Way more effective than drawing on a screen wouldn’t you say?” Siren raised her voice, looking back at Zekro with a smug smile.

“...Let’s just keep going.” He glared at her and sped up, now walking in front of them. Siren chuckled.

“Anyways, I can’t show you what I used on the robots but… you get the gist of it.” She winked at Mishira and followed Zekro.

Mishira was about to follow as well but in the distance he heard frantic footsteps. He reached out and lunged forward, grabbing Zekro’s and Siren’s arms. They both looked back at him with confused expressions but he made a ‘silence’ gesture and pointed to the end of the hallway, where the footsteps were coming from. They all exchanged determined looks and got into their attack stances.

After some seconds the source of the footsteps turned around the corner and rendered the group speechless.

“Boys!” Rukia cried out with a smile and ran towards them.

“Heh. Glad to see you’re both safe.” Dojima let out a sigh of relief.

“Mom! Dad!” Zekro laughed and ran towards his mother, hugging her tightly. Mishira followed after him and Rukia embraced them both with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Thank goodness… I was so worried…” She muttered over and over. The boys giggled.

“Yeah it was a little tough but nothing we couldn’t handle.” Mishira nudged Zekro with his elbow.

“Hah! I knew my boys were tough! Not gonna get scared off by some scraps of metal eh?!” Dojima laughed as he rustled their hair.

Such a nice family moment. So sweet. So lovely. Nothing could possibly ruin this.

“Jeez people, get a room.” Nothing, except Siren. She had her arms folded, looking away from the scene and trying not to barf. Dojima and Rukia exchanged curious looks.

“And who is your friend here? A melrian I see?” Dojima asked, analyzing the fish girl.

“Uh… friend might be a little too much.” Zekro grimaced while glancing back at her. “She was more of a fortunate accident.” Siren frowned.

“Well, you kept my boys safe then.” Rukia stepped closer. “For that you have our gratitude.” She bowed with a grateful smile and Siren cringed, waving her hand in a dismissive gesture.

“Y-yeah sure. No big deal.” She coughed and pulled out the picture of the map of the building. “If you guys keep going straight and turn left at the end of this hallway you should reach the transporter room.”

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Dojima asked with worry. “Surely you don’t mean to head into danger by yourself?”

Siren shook her head and started walking ahead. “Transporter rooms ain’t really my thing. The exit should be close by and my ride is waiting for me outside soooo… No thanks.”

Zekro took a step forward and pointed an accusing finger at her. “This doesn’t make us square you know?!” He shouted. “You’re not getting off the hook that easy!” Siren only glanced back with a smirk and waved her hand as she turned around the corner and disappeared. “Tch… There are some annoying fish in the sea.”

Rukia giggled and pat Zekro’s shoulder. “Come on you guys. We should be getting to safety as well.” They all nodded and started running in the direction Siren had told them.

And, just like how she said, after taking a turn they could finally see the transporter room doors up ahead.

“Hey look! There it is!” Mishira said with an excited smile and sprinted ahead of the group. He took hold of the handles of swung the doors open. What was waiting for him was… Despair.

Dead bodies lying around, cloaked soldiers carrying massive blasters and a plasma beam headed straight to his direction. He didn’t even have a chance to react as he felt his body being pushed to the side by a strong force. Mishira fell to the floor, barely avoiding the shot.

“Mishira! Are you okay?!” He recognized Zekro’s voice calling out from afar.

“Ouch… what was that…” He groaned and raised his head, finding himself face to face with a smiling bunnier.

“Damn Mishira. I leave you for a second and you almost get your butt blasted.”

“Samuel?!” He widened his eyes at the sight of his “tour guide” standing next to him. Iggy’s hand was held out and Mishira took it, picking himself up.

“Hey I’m here too!” Ria peeked out from behind Samuel’s back. “Are you okay Mish?”

“Yeah… That was a close one though. Thanks Samuel.” He scratched his cheek with an embarrassed smile. Iggy smiled back and ruffled his hair.

“Uh… boys I don’t wanna interrupt this reunion but…” Rukia pointed to the inside of the transporter room.

The cloaked soldiers were walking towards the group while pointing high tech rifles at them.

“It seems there are more civilians here than we had thought.” Said one of them.

“And the target is with them as well.” The soldier turned to his partner. “Call for backup. Tell them we have located the target.”

“ _That won’t be necessary._ ” A woman’s voice came from behind the group. They all turned around and were face to face with yet another soldier, only this time she seemed a bit different than the other ones they had come across.

She wasn’t wearing a common, full helmet, only a blue visor over her eyes with metal parts covering her ears and extending to her cheek bones. Her cloak was dark blue with golden ornaments and many badges attached to the fabric, along with high heel boots of the same color. Her purple hair was tied in a side ponytail and based on her height she seemed to be the same age as Zekro and Mishira. As she got closer to the group they could see not only a powerful blaster on her side, but also a rapier strapped to her belt.

“I can handle this myself.” With a smile, she waved her hand, making the two other soldiers lower their guns.

“The hell…?” Samuel, who stood in front of Ria and Mishira in a protective stance, frowned at the mysterious soldier. Meanwhile, Mishira was agonizing in silence, for the ringing noise in his ear came back at full force.

“Gh! Shit…” He groaned and closed his eyes. Ria glanced at him with a worried expression. But her attention quickly went back the the soldier in front of them.

The cloaked girl turned her head in Dojima’s direction, and the man stepped in front of his wife. “Mister Dojima Fudo.” She said with a delighted tone. “I certainly didn’t expect to finally meet you under such… complicated circumstances. I must say destiny is very playful is it not?” The girl chuckled. “Of course, the fact that you’re here is merely fortune. Did you enjoy my little hacking trick in your silly game?”

“So that was you?!” Zekro growled and was about to walk up to her, but Dojima held his shoulder firmly and pulled him back. The scientist has a dark expression, his cold glare never wavering.

“What do you want you pirate?” He spat out harshly, but the soldier merely smiled.

“Well well isn’t someone here in a hurry? Okay then. If you and your precious boy there would please come with us…” She extended her hand. “...It would make things much easier.”

“And why do you need us?” He shot back, frowning.

“Because, people like you will help our organization achieve its goal. And I’m afraid we won’t take no for an answer.” She snapped her fingers and the two grunt soldiers on standby raised their guns again. “With that being said, you’re only the bonus here. It’s your boy that we’re after.”

“Thanks for the offer lady…” Zekro slipped under Dojima’s arm and leaped at the cloaked girl.

“Zekro! No!”

“But I’m afraid I’ll have to pass!” Smirking, he swung the metal pipe, bashing the girl’s face with it and, in turn, breaking part of the visor.

“Zekro are you crazy?! Get back here! Now!” His father yelled in panic.

“Heh… That was a big mistake…” The soldier raised her head and Mishira caught a glimpse of crimson red eyes. “Unfortunately… you’re not the one I was looking for.”

In the blink of an eye, she drew out her rapier. The world seemed to move in slow motion as all eyes were focused on Zekro, slowly falling to the floor with a huge cut on his chest. Mishira felt his blood turn cold as he could no longer hear anything, not even the ringing in his ears. Everything was overtaken by a dreadful silence.

 

...And, in that silence, a heartbroken scream roared through.

“ZEKRO!”


End file.
